Once you are familiar with Reef Encounter you may prefer a longer more tactical game where there is more opportunity to exploit some of the tactics hinted at in the rulebook. If so, try the game with the following changes:

No bonus tiles are available when placing polyp tiles next to the light coloured squares.

The number of polyp tiles placed in the bag when a coral is eaten is increased from 4 to 5 (and at the end of the game from 5 to 6).